Stolen
by Shaddow the Spirit
Summary: WARNING SLASH FENTONxPHANTOM  AU: Daniel Fenton steals the ultimate treasure to impress his family. Danny Phantom, being that treasure, grows up long away what was meant for him, but how can he handle fighting the government? Better sum inside. NO FLAMES!
1. Origins and ghost thieves

Yo again. New fanfiction, new story plot, new AU, and more time used on different fanfictions, giving slower updates.

But why?

Could it be that I'm not caring about my precious reviewers, who use their time to read my stories and review them to give me the fuel I need to write? Absolutely not! Am I evil? Maybe. Am I having too many ideas to keep concentrating on one fanfiction at a time? Definitely!

So I apologize. But I hope you'll like this one, as it's my very first slash story, PitchPearl. In case someone doesn't know what it means, it's FentonxPhantom. And yes, there will be a reason for this being rated M... Later.

This is an(other) AU.

There are no fancy weapons in this world, but guns and cars have been invented.

So here ya go guys, I hope you'll enjoy!

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><p>Prologue: Origins<p>

A scientist once created a creature, being able to fly and talk, having super powers such as being able to pass through solid objects and between others.

The creature was called a ghost, because it was so similar to the popular idea of what a ghost is. The government quickly got the patent on the invention, and used the ghosts, first as war machines, but later as workers for the police or other things like that. Ghosts usually have absolutely no emotions and instincts at "birth", but are clever beings who develop easily.

As the years passed it turned out that the ghosts got special abilities if they were kept near a source of it, that being electricity, fire or things like that. When the ability was revealed, the government took advantage of it, and kept some ghosts close to power sources, even before they hatched from their eggs. Unfortunately, the ghosts came out twisted and aggressive, uncontrollable and unstable. They caused chaos to the land for a few days before they destabilized, and turned to a thick form of ectoplasm.

From then on it was forbidden to have ghosts near any type of power source before they had been hatched for three months.

No human looks at a ghost as a thinking creature, but as an animal of the government. Ghosts have no rights to deny any order, even if it would cause their own death.

The ghosts are "born" as small balls with a soft shell of ectoplasm covering it. After two months they grow out of the shell, and grow to adult size in about 6 months more. When they're big enough they get an injection that keeps them from growing faster than a human.

Most ghosts are much like each other, all green, and work for the police. One ghost is set to take care of making sure all ghosts are doing as they should. Pariah Dark, also known as the king of the ghosts, though he has no real might.

The ghosts have been working for humans for six centuries, always for the government, never for the individual.

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><p>Chapter one: Ghost thieves<p>

Midnight. A few bats were flying through the air for bugs, and owls could be seen patrolling their territories, looking for a meal. No clouds were in sight, the stars and the moon were glowing on the night sky.

The government's ghost lab was silent as a grave. The guards were elsewhere in the building, thanks to an explosion in the southern part of it. The northern part was left devoid of life.

Well, if you didn't count the undeveloped ghost babies on the shelves. Hundreds of small balls in different colors were lined up, straight as an arrow, all over the room. This part of the building was for the just made ones, the ones that weren't anything but a colored ball with a colored shell. Everything was locked away, and a key was needed to get access to the ghosts.

The walls were grey and the room was constantly kept at an average temperature, nothing electrical was anywhere to be seen, no open fire, no refrigerator, only the shelves stood out from the metallic room, as they were made of wood and not iron.

Sudden footsteps could be heard, as a young man in his twenties walked through the door. In his hand he was holding a key, the kind that only the scientists were walking around with.

Stopping at the first shelf, the young male looked at the ghosts in his reach. Most of them were clones of each other, a green center with a green shell. One was also with a green shell but with an undeveloped core. It would naturally get tossed away if it didn't grow more than that... Unless the government found a use for a tiny ghost. Another had a big black core that looked like it had fur, and a yellow shell. Finally stopping at two boxes, the young male began considering which one he should choose. The one at his left was a red core with a black shell, pulsing with dark energy, while the other one was a black core with a pink shell.

As the guards' footsteps could be heard, the young human had to decide quickly. Looking at a little engraving under each bubble, he learned that the one with the pink shell was meant to be sent to the army when it hatched. Grabbing an egg, the young man left the building, silent as a mouse on a thick carpet.

When the guards finally returned, they quickly realized a ghost was missing. At the shelf nearest the northern door, nearly all the ghosts were in place. Except one. At the right of a ghost bubble with a dark shell, the place was empty. The unthinkable had happened.

A ghost had been stolen.

As the alarms went off, the police got called and the lab closed off, a passer-by would notice a shadow running into the wood. A very observant passer-by would also notice the little box with a slightly glowing ghost egg inside.

A weak pink glow could be seen moving past the trees at an incredible speed for someone running.

Somewhere in the night a dog began barking.

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><p>Twenty years later:<p>

The sun was shining down on the beautiful landscape. It was the middle of spring, birds were singing, insects were filling the air. The snow had melted a few weeks ago, and everything was filled with life and sound. Everything seemed peaceful and consistent.

A few meters away, the peaceful image broke. A huge dark building lay like someone had dropped it. The building was silent, the only sound heard from it being a weak noise from the machines inside.

Suddenly a small deer jumped and ran away. It had realized that it wasn't alone as it had thought. A young man at the age of 14 crawled through the edge of the wood, slowly standing up and stretching his body.

"Ah... I needed that..." He mumbled. Shaking his head he looked around, his baby blue eyes shining with barely controlled excitement and nervousness. He swallowed and ran down to the lab in silence. As he approached the building, his excitement grew and replaced the nervousness. This was his big chance to show his damn family that he wasn't just a mere pickpocket! No, he was a Fenton! Daniel Fenton more precisely... The youngest kid in the infamous family of master thieves! His parents were nobody other than Jack Fenton, more known for his strength and merciless fighting methods, than for slyness and intelligence, also known in the family for his big appetite, combined with the genes of Maddie Fenton, known for her agile moves and all seeing eyes.

They raised about 12 children together, who all grew into sly thieves and murders. Nothing was impossible for those two, when they worked together.

Except for getting people and family to respect their 13th kid, Daniel.

No matter how hard they tried, how much they trained, he just wouldn't seem to grow stronger. He wasn't even strong enough to win against his 15 year old brother Derek, and he wasn't fast enough to escape when the kids played "police gonna catch ya!" He always got caught. His parents slowly gave up on him, as they realized that he hadn't even inherited his mother's smart brain.

Sure he had some abilities, he was able to steal anything from anyone's pocket, that being a front or back pocket, and he climbed faster and more quietly than anyone else in the family. But how was that useful for anything but a simple pickpocket?

His family looked down on him, his parents and siblings were ashamed of him... But now was the time to show them all! Now was the time for them to learn that his abilities were useful for more than they thought!

Now was the time to steal the ultimate treasure... He was going to steal a ghost!

Finally reaching his destination he looked around for an opportunity. A small window caught his attention. Crawling up the grey brick wall he soon peeked inside the laboratory.

He withdrew his head quickly though. The room seemed to be packed with guards, all armed to the teeth. Daniel gulped. How in the world was he going to get an egg when everything was locked away for total safety?

As an idea popped into his head, he carefully peeked up again and moved soundlessly into a position where nobody could see him, but he could see everything going on. The room was seemingly reserved for the youngest ghosts, not even having eyes yet. Waiting impatiently for hours, scientists finally walked through the doors in the room.

A smirk made its way over his face, as the glasses protecting the baby ghosts got locked up and opened, every single one at once, as the eggs were going through the daily afternoon and morning routine of check-up. Moving his gaze to the eggs near him, he eyed the nearest. An egg with a simple grey center and a slightly lighter grey shell lay so near that he could reach out, grab it and steal it with ease.

Too easy.

He looked a bit to the left and saw a slightly smaller egg with a green core and a reddish pink ectoplasmic shell.

Looking to the right he saw two similar eggs, both with what seemed to be a snow white center, the color mostly hidden by their neon green shell. Twins.

Out of his reach.

Just what he was looking for. A challenge.

Moving soundlessly to the right, bit by bit, he soon came closer to the twins. Reaching out, he carefully touched the box nearest himself. He knew the thing was alive even if it looked like a giant discolored egg without a shell. Grabbing it with one hand he easily climbed out the window, even without making the alarms go off.

Landing silently on the ground he looked at his catch. Deciding quickly he crawled back up and took the other twin with him as well. Some of his siblings was triplets, and they never went anywhere without each other, so he guessed it would be the same with ghost twins.

Jumping as the sudden sound of the alarms going off shocked him, he quickly ran into the wood, caring the boxes with him. They weren't heavy, but they were difficult to run with and he couldn't help being afraid of getting caught and shot. He just waited for the sound of a gun and the deadly pain in his back, but it never came. He escaped.

After eternities of running, he sat down on a log.

Disbelief and disappointment welled up inside him as he looked at the ghost eggs. Or the boxes that had held them.

They were empty.

He guessed they must've opened when he was running. The eggs would be sure to be smashed, and all his efforts would be wasted.

Sighing in defeat he looked down at his feet.

Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Looking up he saw something, which looked like a small green ball, lying in the grass a few feet away. Running over, he found one of the lost eggs, safe and sound, but alone. The twin was nowhere to be seen.

Feeling a bit sorry for the ghost baby to have lost its twin, he carefully picked it up and nuzzled it gently. This one he would never ever lose again. Never. This little guy would be his future companion in his life of crime. He would teach the ghost to steal and get away with it... Nobody would take it from him, ever!

He silently walked into the woods, carefully petting the egg, who silently responded to his touch by pushing slightly back at his hand. The mere feeling of getting poked filled the young Fenton's heart with happiness.

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><p>A small green ball silently lay in the grass, moving a bit in confusion of the sudden loss of its box' security. Everything seemed cold and dangerous.<p>

The tiny baby quickly began searching mentally for its twin brother. Shock and fear welled over it, as it realized that the twin was long gone. The baby ghost was alone for the very first time.

As wind blew, the ball got tipped and pushed down a minor hill. After what felt like a long and terrifying experience, the little ghost got hidden under a tree, out of sight of anyone, the darkness and the smell of a dead rat lying beside it being its only companions.

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><p>I really hope you liked it. Cookies for everyone who can guess who the other ghosts were :D<p>

The twin will be important for the story... Later. No asking, I'm not gonna tell anything!


	2. How to raise a ghost

Three reviews, hooray! Thanks to James, Jacky the ripper and Danielle995. You guys are awesome!

Nobody tried to guess a ghost yet... oh well.

Here ya go, next chapter, and I forgot this in the previous chapter:

**DISCLAIMER! I do not own Danny Phantom, then it would still get new episodes, and I wouldn't be very rich, because they would suck. Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman, who made some awesome episodes!**

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><p>The hideout between the tree roots looked smaller from the outside than it was inside. Once inside, it turned into a small tunnel that ended in a little cave. There were about one and a half meters to the roof, but space enough to contain five grown men, lying outstretched on the floor, side by side. Right now, it didn't contain any grown men, though.<p>

It contained a backpack, two boxes with food, another box with gaze, some bottles with various liquids, a teen, and a jacket, folded around a tiny ghost egg.

At the same time as a small box, similar to the ones the government used for their ghost eggs, was getting swept away in a river a few miles away, Daniel took his time to read the instructions of how to take care of a ghost. The instructions had been inside the box, together with the egg. And the government thought they were protecting their ghosts? He shook his head and concentrated on the text.

Seemed like he had to get something for the baby to eat... And turn it into a liquid so he could feed it with the needle. This wasn't going to be easy. At least he had some ghost-baby-food already... Also in the box, together with medicine and other things...

Seriously, were all those so called Guys in White idiots?

A small sound made him look at the baby. It was rustling a bit, seemly wanting something.

"I guess I cost you your dinner, eh?" Daniel smiled, carefully patting the small ball. Smirking as it reacted to his touch by pushing slightly against his palm, he found the needle from his bag, where he had stored the things from the box, and filled it with "ghost-baby-meal".

Carefully putting a hand on the egg, he placed the point of the needle against the soft green bubble. Slowly and as carefully as possible, he pressed the needle through the shell, until it just barely stuck into the ghost baby's core.

Feeling how the small infant silently protested and tried to move away from the needle, he figured it hurt. He smiled pityingly down at it.

"Sorry little fellow, it's for your own good..." He told it and pressed the liquid into the core. Soon the ghost stopped protesting and calmed down, no longer hungry. Daniel smiled at it. His very own ghostly companion... Nobody else's!

Carefully lying down on the floor, he took his blanket and went to sleep.

His last thought concerned the tiny sleeping ball, lying in his jacket, right next to him.

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><p>A very small sound of cloth moving on dirt woke Daniel early in the morning.<p>

The sound was very low, but when you're used to keeping an eye open for every little opportunity or danger, you get used to waking up at the tiniest sounds.

Opening his eyes slowly, he tried to localize the source of the noise. A mouse he guessed. Unwelcome guests in his hide-out. They ate everything they could, that being food, his clothes, his bag, his shoes, his books, a baby ghost...

THE BABY GHOST!

Sitting up straight, he looked for the jacket. Sighing in relief, he crawled over to the green ghostling.

Shaking back and forth, it made the jacket slide against the jagged floor. Daniel grinned slightly. "Seems like I got myself a wakeup call, eh?" Blinking in surprise as the tiny ball stopped moving for a moment, reacting to his voice, he wondered how it could hear him through the ectoplasmic shell. Oh well.

He reached for the needle.

Moments later he was able to lie down again. Slowly closing his eyes he tried to go back to sleep. Another small sound, much more familiar this time though, kept him awake.

"I guess some breakfast would be in place," He mumbled, sitting up once more. "I'll never be able to sleep when my stomach is growling like a dog anyway."

Reaching for his supplies he grabbed an apple and began eating. Smiling slightly at the baby he leaned against the wall, almost carelessly killing a fly that kept trying to land on his hand. Damn bugs, he thought. Better to kill them than to let them know there was food down here...

He closed his eyes, and soon after a light snore could be heard in the cave.

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><p>The days passed quickly. Daniel spent most his time searching for food, and making food for the ghostling. After figuring out how, it wasn't hard. He simply took some apples, made some apple juice, blended it with water, and fed it to the baby.<p>

The ball still seemed to dislike the needle, but he had no other option unless he wanted it to die.

And that would definitely be a no.

3 weeks after stealing the young ghost, he returned back to get a surprise. As he crawled through the entrance, he suddenly felt a weak nudge to the arm. Looking down in confusion, he was greeted by two green eyes, looking curiously up at him from inside a green shell.

Gaping slightly, Daniel sat down, careful to not sit on his little companion, who was rolling around him happily.

"I thought it would take you more time to grow up..." He mumbled, carefully nuzzling the tiny ball. The very second he withdrew his hand, it began pushing against his leg, and he soon realized that it did what human babies sometimes do as well.

It called for attention.

Laughing lightly, he patted it once more. "You're a little attention seeker, you know that?" He asked it, and was replied by a minor push against his palm.

Suddenly frowning slightly, he decided to be safe and quickly began building up a small playpen for the ghostling, to avoid lying or sitting on it. The ghost though, didn't seem very happy about the paddock. Bumping into the improvised fence, it made it clear that it preferred freedom instead of security. Soon realizing that bumping did nothing but cause pain in its core, it stopped and rolled to the other end of the paddock.

Daniel couldn't help but laugh at the pouting ghostling, which didn't help its mood a tiny bit. Carefully nuzzling it, he crawled into the paddock and began playing a little with it.

Accepting that Daniel was both superior and victorious, the ghost decided that the attention was okay at least. Trying to fetch his hand, it began to appreciate the boy more and more. He fed it with something much better than the ill tasting stuff it was used to earlier, and it was no longer supposed to amuse itself all the time. Even though it missed the usual telepathic contact with its twin, it didn't want back to the scary people with the long white coats. Here it didn't just feel safe, but respected and loved as well.

Daniel couldn't help but smile as he slowly moved his hand around, making the small infant turn and twist in an attempt to catch his fingers. The ghost had made his life more interesting than usual. Now everything wasn't just about stealing some food here and escaping some guards there, now he could look forward to getting home to the baby ghost, and to the time he spent together with it. He was a lot happier than usual, and it wasn't just about showing his family his worth anymore. It was... more of a new responsibility for the ghost. Without him, it would die in a matter of days like its twin...

Suddenly realizing that the ghostling had stopped fetching his hand, he looked down. The ghost had seemly got tired and now it lay on the jacket, with the neon green eyes closed in its sleep.

Deciding that learning more about his future friend would be in place, he grabbed the book from the box and began reading.

Daniel's eyes widened as he figured out that the ghost would grow out of the shell in less than 2 months. It would reach adult size in less than 6 months after hatching, and it wouldn't take more than 3 years before it would die of old age. Feeling tears work their way up in his eyes at the thought of losing his new friend, he soon figured out a way to help it. According to the book, the little bottle with the opaque liquid was meant to be given to the ghost when it had reached the desired age. That would stop it from growing faster than a human, and make sure it would live for many years more.

Now sighing in relief, he began wondering about which age he would let it get to, before using the injection on it. Deciding to wonder about that later, he closed the book, crawled out of the paddock and went to sleep.

Maybe he would let it get to his own age... It would be nice to have someone he could talk to, without having to talk like a small kid or an adult.

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><p>A few miles away, a dead tree was standing in the middle of a clearing. On one of the boughs, someone seemed to be quite comfortable, almost carelessly looking around. Sniffing slightly at the wind, the person smirked and bared two long fangs, each seemly sharp enough to cut through iron, and hard enough to scratch a diamond.<p>

The blue skinned ghost jumped down off the tree with ease, and began walking into the woods, constantly sniffing in the air.

The ghost was muscular for a human, but slightly built for a ghost. The way it moved revealed how strong it was, though. Its ears were small but pointy, it's hair pitch-black, but with a slight grey stripe running from the fringe to the back of its head.

Hours later, the tall ghost finally stopped and looked around, now invisible for everything but ghost detectors.

A small tree caught his attention. It seemed normal, for most humans or ghosts that passed by, unless they really were searching. The ghost, though, seemingly had a better vision than most other ghosts, as it had no trouble in seeing the hide-out, hidden between the roots of the tree.

Getting down on his knees, the ghost looked inside the hide-out, and easily noticed a small ghostling sleeping in an improvised paddock, not far from a black haired teen, leaning against the wall, snoring slightly. Smirking once more, the ghost withdrew his head and began flying home.

He had a lot of news for his master...

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><p>Back under the dead tree, a dead rat lay.<p>

No blood was running from the wound that had killed it, it was all gone.

A little longer in the cave, a ghostling with a white core and a green shell was lying, considering whether or not to leave the cave and find some more blood to drink... The rat had helped stop its hunger, but it wouldn't be enough for all eternity, and it definitely didn't taste very good... But at least better than the usual liquid the people in white clothes fed it with... Hopefully there would be more to eat out there... The small ghost carefully rolled to the caves entrance, impatient for more blood to absorb through the shell.

From outside the small hole under the tree, someone might have noticed the two small, glowing, blood red eyes that looked out at the night.

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><p>I'll be the first one to admit that the "instructions in the box" idea was lame, but everything will be explained in later chapters... And besides that, I'm sorry for slow updates. I have 5 stories to work on, and no, I'm not very fast at writing, but I'm afraid you'll have to deal with it. I can't write something without feeling the urge to do so.<p> 


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